WRIGHT ANSWERS CRITICS WITH VICTORY AT CAJON

CAJON, California -- Jeff Wright has been uniformly criticized at Cajon
Speedway this year for his overly aggressive driving style. Saturday night
the veteran racer answered those critics both on an off the track. First he
edged out Danny Gay by just a matter of inches at Cajon Speedway in the
NASCAR Weekly Racing Series presented by Dodge late model sportsman main
event. Then in his post-race interview he won back even more fans with his
honest self-appraisal.

On the track, Gay was in the driver's seat most of the contest. But Wright
dove low into turn three on the final lap. The two came out of turn four
side-by-side, bounced together, and rubbed each other to the finish line
before ending up in the infield in a cloud of dust. The verdict was
unanimous. Wright had taken the checkered flag in front by just a matter of
inches. It was his third win of the season. His ride was worth $1250; that
included the $800 prize money, $250 Sid's Auto Body bonus money (this was
the fourth of six such designated races, and the final $200 for being the
Sid's Hard Charger for gaining the most passing points. And what a hard
charger he was!

Greg McCown was a first time victor in the bomber stocks. Ed Hale continued
his domination of the pony stocks. He raced his way to his ninth victory of
the season and 155th of his long 42 year career. Michael Peace romped to his
second straight Allison Legacy car feature victory.

Wright came from eighth starting position in the sportsman 40-lapper. Gay
started sixth. But it was Rick Chavez who led early until Gay worked his way
past on lap nine. Wright followed Gay past the early leader and the race
settled down to a terrific two-car battle for the final 30 rounds.

More than once Wright dove under Gay, the track's point leader. But each
time Wright would break loose. He lost about five car lengths in turn four
on lap 15, but drove his way back on the leader's tail by lap 21.Then on the
27th circuit, Wright lost traction, this time in turn one. That cost him
another couple of lengths. But he pedaled back hard. On lap 37 there was
slight contact between the two exiting turn two. This time it was Gay got a
bit sideways. But Wright backed off and Gay was able to gather it back up
and maintain the advantage. Then came the white flag and the final round.
Wright made his move going into turn three and was just inches ahead when
they got to the stripe.

After the race Wright quickly addressed the issue of his driving style.
"That was a good race. I was shaking the last lap," Wright said. "I didn't
want to spin Danny out. I have to hand it to him. He's a racer. He raced me
clean and I raced somebody clean for once. But in this conversation I would
really like to tell the 5 car (John Manke) and his crew that I've had my
head up my butt and I'm really sorry for what I've done for them for the
season." For the record Wright has been black-flagged several times for
rough driving. A week ago he tagged Manke in a battle for second place and
that was not the first time he had taken Manke, the second place driver in
points, out of a race.

"Steve Teets was on the radio for me tonight," Wright went on. "He really
helped me around."

"I broke loose a couple of times," Wright explained. "Then I knocked him
(Gay) out in two and got him a little sideways. I got behind him and let his
correct it up. We went on. Then on the last lap Steve was telling me to take
the car in slow underneath him. He wiggled a little bit and I got underneath
him. We rubbed. But honestly I thought I was in second because I slid across
the line cockeyed and he was straight.

"That is how I should race a lot more," Wright concluded. "The people out
here should expect that of me. And (when we both ended up in the infield), I
ended up dirty. But that sure beats being the dog of the night."

The race ran relatively clean from green to checkered. On lap 3 Manke and
Stephen Peace got together and Peace spun in turn two. Lap 8 saw Jack Lee
loop it in turn three. And on lap 26 Rex Murray and Peace somehow made
contact entering turn three. Before everyone came to a stop Ed Hale was in
the wall and Claude Bell was also caught up. The skirmish happened in the
middle of a tight knit pack of about seven cars that were battling for the
fourth through tenth positions.

Placing behind Wright and Gay in the feature were Jerry Gay, Manke, and Jeff
Seifert, the night's quick qualifier, who turned a very quick lap of
:l6.201. That was a full three tenths of a second quicker than Wright, who
was second fastest.

In the pony stocks, Tim Beeney found himself out front at the start as he
has so many times this year. But Ed Hale had his Pinto on a string in the
low groove. He started 11th and was up to fifth in less than three circuits.
He was put on Beeney's bumper with the help of a lap 6 caution flag and was
in front to stay on lap 7. Beeney faded to fourth by the checkered. Marty
Schmidt was in hot pursuit of Hale for the last half of the contest but
ended up second. Mike Weimann closed quickly and moved from fifth to third
in the last two laps. George Behlman came back from a lap 6 spin to end up
fifth.

McCown's victory in the bomber stocks was long overdue. Earlier this year he
was known as Mr. Fifth Place after finishing there five times in the first
ten races. He came close to a victory on July 13 but fell just short behind
Pat Garity. But Saturday night he was on the prowl. He started 12th and was
one of only a handful of the faster qualifiers to work his way through
traffic. Meanwhile Thomas Osborne was out front. When McCown got up to
second, Osborne was ten lengths in front. But he knocked that margin in half
by lap 11 and then it was erased entirely when a yellow came out. McCown
made short order of Osborne when racing resumed on lap 12. He got under the
leader in turn one and had a clear advantage by turn four. Brian
Fitzgibbons, in only his ninth start, qualified sixth fastest and gave
McCown a run for his money. Fitzgibbons fell two lengths short at the
stripe. Mark Wendell, the night's quick qualifier, was another fast
finisher. The ever-improving driver ended up third ahead of Scott Denton and
Eric Evans, who was subbing for Chris Boyer.

McCown struggled for words as his crew pushed him back to his pit after the
post-race weigh-in. He even had to be reminded to put the steering wheel
back on. "This is my first main event and that is so exciting," he said with
his voice cracking with emotion. "We have worked so stinking hard for it. We
're very excited about it. I'm speechless. It is such an awesome feeling.
All those wins in the heat races and not to take anything away from those.
But it doesn't compare to a main event. I love it. These guys worked their
butts off today. We had a terrible practice. But it is really exciting to
get a main event. I want more."

"I didn't' have time (to get nervous)," McCown pointed out. "Brian
Fitzgibbons was doing a great job. He had a wonderful night tonight and I am
very happy for him. He drove very cleanly. He was pressuring me. I could
feel him. I thought I would just leave him a line, but it's a line that I
choose. So no, I didn't have any time to feel any pressure."

Peace took over the number one spot in the legacy car 20-lapper when
pacesetting Scott Dannen slipped just a bit in turn four on lap 7. A lap 17
yellow put Dannen back on the leader's bumper. But Peace was not to be
denied. Dannen lost the runner-up spot to John McCain on the next to the
last lap. Rob Ferguson and Sean Bishop rounded out the top five.

PIT NOTES: Driving the Mark Norris rent-a-racer was former Midwest ace Ed
Hoffman, who now resides in Fallbrook. Hoffman won 14 short track and one
road racing championship many years back running against the likes of Dick
Trickle, Mark Martin, and Rusty Wallace. . At Orange Show Speedway Saturday
night, Gary Tamborelli moved a lot closer to his second straight
championship by running first and second in their twin main events.
RESULTS FOR THE NASCAR WEEKLY RACING SERIES PRESENTED BY DODGE